Canada Case Law

Tatiana Gorenstein v. Meta Platforms, Inc.

Court

Federal Court of Appeal

Appeal dismissed because the Federal Court lacked statutory jurisdiction under the Federal Courts Act to adjudicate this essentially private contractual dispute between the appellant and Meta; the parties conceded the lack of federal jurisdiction and the Federal Court's reasoning on enforceability of forum selection clauses was not endorsed because necessary findings under Douez and Dell were not made.

Source excerpt

• Forum selection clause
• Terms of service
• Choice of law
• Contract of adhesion
• Jurisdictional competence
• Enforceability of online arbitration/choice clauses

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Keltic (Prior) Development Limited Partnership v. Van Renesse Investment Company Ltd.

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court struck multiple portions of the amended response because, assuming the pleaded facts, they disclosed no reasonable defence, were irrelevant or prejudicial: commercial negotiation precluded contra proferentem arguments; indemnity and "as is" clauses did not permit contracting out of the EMA; a purchase agreement with an indemnity clause is not an insurance contract under the Insurance Act; limitation and offset defences were inadequately pleaded. The court refused to extend time to file the proposed counterclaim because the proposed claim was legally weak, materially different in sub…

Source excerpt

• Indemnity clause
• Contaminated site remediation
• Strike pleadings
• Counterclaim extension
• Contra proferentem
• Duty of utmost good faith

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Green Rise Foods Inc. v. N.V. Hagelunie

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Ontario Court of Appeal set aside summary judgment in a greenhouse insurance dispute, holding the motion judge misapplied causation analysis and failed to resolve key factual issues.

• Coverage
• Causation
• Policy interpretation
• Exclusions
• Summary judgment
• Onus of proof

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Cressey Construction Corporation v. Parolin

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The appellant's unilateral revocation of an established express oral term permitting the respondent to work from home, without reasonable notice, was a breach of contract that constituted constructive dismissal; the trial judge did not err in finding the respondent's decision to pursue business ventures was a reasonable form of mitigation and in awarding 19 months' pay in lieu of notice, and the appeal is dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Constructive dismissal
• Mitigation of damages
• Notice period
• Oral terms of employment
• Work-from-home arrangements
• Punitive damages

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Eng v. Sit

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The trial judge permissibly accepted counsel's abandonment of penalty and costs claims, and correctly interpreted the loan agreement as providing for simple, not compound, interest based on the contract language, the surrounding circumstances (including that the plaintiff drafted the agreement), and analogous authorities; issues of promissory estoppel and collateral agreement were not pleaded or developed at trial and thus were not appropriately raised on cross-appeal.

Source excerpt

• Loan agreement interpretation
• Simple versus compound interest
• Penalty clause
• Guarantee of debt
• Promissory estoppel
• Collateral agreement

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Crazy Greek Chick Foods Limited v. Chakroborty

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The appeal is dismissed because the chambers judge did not misapply the Miracle Feeds test, reasonably accepted the respondent's affidavit as disclosing a defence worthy of investigation given the oral contract and disputed facts, and there was no reasonable apprehension of bias; no palpable and overriding error warranted appellate intervention.

Source excerpt

• Setting aside default judgment
• Meritorious defence
• Procedural fairness
• Reasonable apprehension of bias
• Extension of time
• Miracle feeds test

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Bank of Montreal v. Ieradi

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal over whether a $400,000 unsecured line of credit was personal or corporate, finding no reversible error in the trial judge’s factual findings.

• Personal line of credit
• Corporate borrowing
• Adverse inference
• Spoliation
• Commercial reasonableness
• Appellate review - palpable and overriding error

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Friel v. HUB International Limited

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal over forum and arbitration clauses, holding the dispute over HPI share options belonged in Delaware and the forum clause was enforceable.

• Forum selection clause
• Arbitrability
• Competence-competence
• Unconscionability
• Contract interpretation
• Choice of forum

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Zhang v. The King

Court

Tax Court of Canada

The Tax Court enforced an email-based settlement, finding a binding agreement on the GST/HST appeals and referring the assessments back for reassessment.

• Settlement enforcement
• Principled settlement rule
• Deemed self-supply (s.191 eta)
• Exempt supply (schedule v part i s.4(b))
• Input tax credits and rebates
• Gross negligence penalties

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Tsawwassen First Nation v. Martinolich

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The Retaining Wall, Fill and Concrete Pad directly encroached onto TFN's Lot 4 and, by remaining after notification, constituted a continuing trespass at common law and under the TFN Land Act; the 2014 construction of a substantial new retaining wall inside the Bluff Management Zone without required improvement permits, committee approval or a sealed geotechnical opinion breached the Headlease and TFN building regulation; equitable relief in the form of a mandatory injunction ordering removal and restoration is warranted and TFN is entitled to solicitor-client costs under the clear indemnity…

Source excerpt

• Trespass
• Injunctive relief
• Lease/headlease compliance
• Solicitor-client costs indemnity
• Land management/bluff stabilization
• Statutory trespass under land act

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